Leather coat storage

[Chainsaw]

Humidity, longevity?

Maybe I'z just a stooge or something, but If one treats one leather, with like, Dubbin's mink oil, or Vaseline, or something that's nice for fine leather, Hawaiian tropic, don't that make it unnecessary to worry about it?

 

[green papaya]

I put a large plastic bag / cover over my jackets during the spring / summer

some are sealed in a zippered cover and hang in the closet

laying them on on the floor under a table with a blanket to cover them would be a good way to store them, but take up too much space

 

[Navin323i]

Wonder if anyone has placed them in bags and filled with inert gases like nitrogen to keep them. Way back when people use to take their best furs and furcoats to the storage guys that had special atmosperically controlled areas for them. Wonder what the Smithsonian would save about presevation of leather jackets.

From all the research I've done on the topic of leather jacket storage, the general consensus is to not store the jackets in sealed bags since the leather is porous and needs to breathe. I'm also curious what the Smithsonian would say about leather jacket preservation... I recall that the jacket belonging to the "Fonz" is displayed at the Museum of American History... I'm yet to go there to see that exhibit even though I live close to DC, lol.

 

[Navin323i]

I put a large plastic bag / cover over my jackets during the spring / summer

some are sealed in a zippered cover and hang in the closet

laying them on on the floor under a table with a blanket to cover them would be a good way to store them, but take up too much space

Keep in mind though that leather needs to breathe so keeping it in a sealed bag that's not ventilated isn't good for the leather. A couple of recommendations I've seen for folks who want to place their leather jackets in bags is to either leave it open slightly for ventilation or get a bag that is breatheable.

 

[P5640blouson]

The Smithsonian techniques cannot work for us

The Smithsonian techniques cannot work for us as their stuff is intended for display only and not for future usage. As a result their processes basically preserves the material for permanent display. You can learn a lot about leather, however by reading about their techniques, but for the garments that a meant to be used, general good leather care habits are what we need, unless you are attempting to time capsule your jacket, in which case, you will need to do things that keep the jacket as new as possible, like not wear it and store it away in clean condition. Either way the jacket will deteriorate in anything that is not perfect environment for leather, to hot, to cold, too damp, too dry, too much light, pests. It can get quite expensive to simply preserve your jacket.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Maybe I'z just a stooge or something, but If one treats one leather, with like, Dubbin's mink oil, or Vaseline, or something that's nice for fine leather, Hawaiian tropic, don't that make it unnecessary to worry about it?

No. Sunlight/humidity/moisture can get at leather no matter how it's treated. And don't forget the lining - moths, etc.


By the way, I have seen posted many times that mink oil can rot seams.

 

[Justhandguns]

My usual practice for storing leather jacket during summer time is, first give your jacket a little bit of polish, whatever you normally use, balm, mink oil etc etc. Then use a cotton shirt to cover your jacket, then place it in the wardrobe. That's actually my mum's way or storing her fur and leather jackets as well. Never had any problem at all.

One thing to remember is, never try to store your jacket in plastic bags. I have heard horror stories from my friends telling me that their precious jackets have 'bound' or 'stick' or 'melt' into the plastic covers. And try not to store your jacket immediate after they were soaked with rain, but I guess it is common sense really.

 

[andy b.]

I have a black leather flight jacket (no idea what style) that my parents bought for me back in 1983 or so (it was slightly over-sized). The manufacturer is Excelled. I don't know if that was a quality manufacturer back then. The jacket has been soaking wet, covered in mud and sleet, worn to all-night drinking bashes in the woods (on many occasion ), piled on the floor under all kinds of other jackets and clothes, left in a closet for a few years in the early 90s, basically anything a person from highschool through adulthood would do to a jacket that they didn't pay for themselves, if you get my drift. It has never been in a humidity-controlled room or stored in nitrogen-purged plastic bags. In fact, I was wearing it all day yesterday to run some errands and do some shopping. Other than conforming perfectly to my body, the leather looks the same as the day it was given to me. Every few years I put some leather cream on it like Obenauf's or something. I would think the current batch of high-end leather jackets should easily hold up to this type of use. They aren't made of tissue paper and lace.

andy b.

 

[Peacoat]

Andy, that might be a goatskin jacket; they seldom show much wear over the years. Cowhide will show wear at high points of the jacket, or the abrasion spots such as where the pilot's safety harness rubs against shoulders and chest. It doesn't sound as if you have done much to cause abrasion in one or two spots, so it is hard to tell the type of leather without seeing it or touching it.

Excelled is the maker of the current issue G1s. I have a 2000 issue jacket in what is probably cowhide stamped to look like goat, and there is nothing wrong with the quality (except the fake mouton collar--but that is spec for current issue). I'm not sure of Excelled's quality rating back in the mid 80s, but it sounds as if they used good quality hides back then, as evidenced by your experience with the jacket.